


Revenge of White Rabbit; Silence

by TiBun, UnknownPaws



Series: White Rabbit [2]
Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: Choose Not To Use Tags, Look to the main fic for possible warnings in tags, Main Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-08 03:41:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5482070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiBun/pseuds/TiBun, https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnknownPaws/pseuds/UnknownPaws
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Butterfly Effect. One small choice can cause catastrophically different outcomes. And Barnaby made his choice: To save Kotetsu, he would seek help. </p><p>Revenge of White Rabbit Ending Option 1 (Main Ending)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Again, this is the first of two optional endings for our fanfiction "Revenge of White Rabbit". Please read that fanfiction first before reading this. ( http://archiveofourown.org/works/4832390 )
> 
> Disclaimer: We do not own any recognizable characters. We only explore the possibilities.  
> Malvolio belongs to UnknownPaws.

Barnaby weighed his options. There were only two, and both had pros and cons and served as a huge risk overall to both the city, and ultimately Kotetsu.

One hand told Barnaby to be rational, to use his brain and think. He didn't trust his clone to keep true to his word, not at the rate the battles and series of events had been going. The bombs themes, from what he was hearing now from Ryan, were most likely a ruse. He'd manipulated and tricked Kotetsu into exhausting himself over and over again mercilessly and, when he was at his weakest, cut him down with more lies and falsified information.

Therefore, it seemed most logical to gather the other Heroes and come up with a plan. Sneak into the hideaway of the clones, and attack when they weren't expecting it. There was no doubt they were expecting them to come, so it made sense that they come in unannounced and with greater numbers instead of giving the clones more time to prepare.

And yet...

Some part of him wanted to go alone. To send his message to his clone that he was wrong, that Kotetsu was loved and wanted. That he would do anything to bring his husband home to his bed and to his daughter, mother, and brother. The clones were still hiding something, and if he didn't say anything he could be making a fatal move in this chaotic chess game of pain and fury. That part of him sounded like his husband, wild and unthinking, bold and daring.

Risking everything to save everything.

Risking himself, the city, and his husband in general, more than he would be than being cautious.

But which to choose...?

Ryan gave an over exaggerated sigh as he leaned back against the gargoyle, "I doubt you are wondering if you should save him or not, so I assume what has you taking pause in action to save him, is what action to take to save him, right? You know you can bounce your ideas off me, Junior."

Barnaby was about to snap at the younger Hero, then stopped and deflated with a sigh of defeat. There was no reason to get annoyed. Ryan was only trying to help. And truthfully, Barnaby knew his help would be more welcomed than not.

Turning so to face the other blond at a safe angle, Barnaby relayed their options.

"We have only two choices at hand - go quietly or go alone. Either way we are walking into fire, but it's the only options we have. Kotetsu is in danger - I need to get him out of there, no matter what happens."

He looked back out at the stretching horizon of the city, the stars dancing overhead in the night sky. "If we go quietly, we can gather the other Heroes and form a sneak attack. It would benefit us more than ...going alone."

"I am unofficially appointing myself as your temporary partner again. We worked together well that one time, and this is your mission. Whichever you choose, I'll help you bring home your raccoon." Ryan vowed.

Despite the situation, Barnaby couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you." he said, for once with real gratitude towards the other man.

"No problem." Ryan grinned, slapping Barnaby on the back encouragingly. "We'll bring him home and you can show him how wrong those other-us-es are!"

Barnaby nodded, silently weighing his options again. Finally after moments of thinking, he decided.

"We'll go quietly. Gather the other heroes and plan a surprise attack.  We'll send Rock Bison and Nathan in first, then have Keith and Pao Lin come in from the sides as decoys. While that happens, Ivan can copy one of the clones and sneak away to look for Kotetsu. We'll back him up from behind."

"No Sweet cheeks?" Ryan raised an eyebrow.

"I'm thinking it may be better if she... stayed back here and kept Kaede company. I love my step-daughter, but she is definitely Kotetsu's child. I know she will try to follow us if we go on, and I cannot let anything happen to her. She's my daughter as much as she is his - I don't know if I could forgive myself if she got hurt."

"Is that really the reason?" Ryan asked, "You could have anyone as a babysitter. Sweet cheeks is still a hero and she could be valuable to the team."

He leaned in closer, "Is this because she has a little feely-thing for your raccoon, Junior?"

Barnaby said nothing. Rising to his feet, he dusted himself off, preparing to descend down into the city to gather the rest of the Heroes for attack.

"We'll ask the Second League to take over watch of the city. They can hold the fort while we are gone."

Ryan nodded, "They are still around? Hu, imagine that…" he got up with a shrug and followed Barnaby down to set the plan into motion.

"Where are the others?" Barnaby called out as they descended through the air to the streets below.

"Mmm, last I knew, right where you left them. Except Sweet Cheeks. She stormed off."

Barnaby cursed - great. There was already one flaw in his plan. "Any idea on where she went?"

"Any place where I wasn't, based on how she tried to freeze me twice."

Barnaby  groaned, landing neatly on the top of an apartment complex before leaping up into the air and further down again. "What the hell did you do?"

"Nothing but turned on my charm. The ladies love it." Ryan laughed.

Barnaby resisted the urge to pull a crusher for justice and grab the nearest stop sign to whack Ryan with. "Imbecile." he grumbled.

"Just use your cell phone to contact them all."

"Do I look like I have it on me? It's back at Saito's lab-"

"You mean your suit doesn't have the cell phone feature?"

Barnaby cursed, mentally chiding himself for being so absent minded as he dialed up the other Heroes.

 

* * *

 

Malvolio frowned, watching the city silently biding its time. He'd expected something more... vocal. More outraged, desperate, and courageous. He'd expected the Heroes to come in like foot soldiers demanding their colleague back. For his original to come forth claiming his husband as his own, ready to defend him no matter the cost.

But instead... he was greeted with a cold chill of repulse and disdain, as if the clone were no longer a threat but merely bothersome. And truthfully, it grated on his nerves. After waiting hours on end, there was no voice to give in to his bargains, no answer spared and no desire to obtain the hopeless Hero he had stolen.

"Humans..." he remarked dryly, "I expected them to be self-centered... but now I truly see what you are made off."

Raising his voice, he spoke out in a cold, harsh tone slick with metal and grinding gears, "Oh? So no one wishes to come claim the kitty? My, my... how interesting. But never mind that."

He smiled, glancing down at Kotetsu with an insane glint in his eyes.

"Since none of you wish to claim this hunk of trash, I'll be taking my win then. Thank you, all of Sternbild, for your attention and generous donation."

His smile became somewhat sad.

"It... has been fun."

White Rose looked down her nose at Kotetsu, bored expression on her snow white face. Hours had passed without word from—anyone; and it seemed that truly no one cared for Wild Tiger—not even his hero of a husband.

She wanted to play.

"No one wants him." She spoke up when her brother made his announcement. "Let's finish playing doctor and make him more like us. Make him understand.

Malvolio smiled at her, his little White Rose. "Amaryllis, my sweet... you and I share our minds as one. As brother and sister. Partners in love and parentage."

His eyes shifted to the fallen Hero, the smirk twisting his lips up into something more sadistic and cruel.

"He shall be... one of us. He shall understand our plight. If they won't want him-"

He watched as H-01 lifted the man into his arms.

"Then we shall bring him into our home, the lost little lamb."

She clapped her hands, pleased that he would let them operate again. The first one had been so small—so easily forgettable. One meant to ready the hero for a much bigger one.

And this time, the hero would never forget what they did to him.

Turning away, she hurried to have the operating room readied.

Malvolio watched her leave, grinning in glee. He was getting giddy again at the mere thought of being able to have a final bit of fun with his exhausted toy. Walking with a jump to his step, the snowy cyborg followed his sister's lead, rudely shocking Kotetsu awake in his impatience.

"Oh Mr. Tiger~" he cooed. "Wakey wakey~ I have some amazing news for you~!"

Kotetsu gasped as he was jolted conscious once more. His body trembling and upon seeing the clone of his husband, he began to breathe hard, struggling for each breath desperately. Eyes wide, he tried to determine if this was the clone, or the man he'd forced into marriage—either way, it caused him panic.

Malvolio just smiled at him, and with a slight change in his voice, started in on the poor unsuspecting Hero. "My sweet, little liar of a _'husband'_..."

He emphasized the word 'husband' with quoting fingers.

"How could you be so, so cruel to me?"

He feigned a hurt look.

Kotetsu sucked in a breath and reached out, "Bunny—" he choked, gripping the fabric of Malvolio's shirt, "I'm sorry—I'm so sorry!"

"Get off me!"

Malvolio shoved him away in disgust, the fake American accent replaced with his English one, snarling angrily at the Hero. "Good grief, grow some fucking balls, you blubberbutt!"

But Kotetsu didn't seem to notice the change. His hands slipped up into his matted hair, tangling within it and gripping it hard, causing himself pain. "Bunny…Bunny…I swear I—I didn't mean to—I just-I –"

"Oh my God... Just shut the hell up already!" Malvolio groaned. This wasn't as fun as he'd thought it'd be. "Idiot, I'm not your husband. Not like it would make a difference. The man abandoned you. The city abandoned you. I gave them a chance to come get you, waited hours, and no one stepped up to claim you. There we go - the truth at it's finest. You aren't wanted Kotetsu T. Kaburagi. Nobody loves you, not even your own family."

The world halted for Kotetsu. That was it…he had no chance at forgiveness, no chance to make things right. His friends, his family—Bunny, Kaede…they were too disgusted with his hidden truths. All those times his daughter said she hated him—they hadn't just been careless words. Every denied hug—had been because he disgraced her—disgusted her…

She was better off with Barnaby…

Barnaby would take care of her—right?

Maybe not. He could still have a chance at a good life of his own…

"It doesn't matter to me - I have bigger plans for you." Malvolio lead the way down a dimly lit hall, a glow from around the corner acting as a guide in the darkness. H-01 made not a sound, though the smirk on his face grew at the increasing discomfort of their prisoner.

Stepping around into the light, Malvolio cast his arms up in time to catch his son coming flying at him in little scrubs.

"I help! I help!" the little Ryan cheered, "I make him fall down and stay still!"

"That's right, sweetheart~!" Malvolio cooed, ruffling the little boy's hair. "He's been a very, very bad man. So you need to keep him still while Daddy makes him good again, okay?"

He kissed his son's cheek, carrying him into the room where his sister and the other clones sat in wait. A whimper sounded from the corner the moment Kotetsu came into view, and glancing to his left he could see the injured, beaten forms of Ivory and Flower cowering in shame and fear from their more intelligent, advanced siblings.

Kotetsu squeezed his eyes shut—he'd only made things worse for Ivory and Flower as well… Truly, he could do nothing right.

He felt himself being laid down on a hard metal surface, the remains of his once glorious hero suit being stripped from his body before little Ryan could he heard getting onto the same table Kotetsu was on, situating himself at his feet before suddenly there was an intense gravitational pull upon his body—but only extending to his body in a very controlled manor. Ice also formed around him, chilling him and only restricting him more.

"Bad! Bad kitty!"

"Good boy, Ryan." Malvolio cooed, patting the boy's head. Turning to his fellow clones, he raised his arms as if to embrace them all as family. "My fellow companions, we gather here to see the birth of our newest family member."

The cyborg gestured to the injured Hero lying trapped on the table.

"Our poor, dear sweet Tiger has been abandoned by his kind. Crossed out, left for dead... just as we were."

A hand found its way to his heart, the somber expression something oddly genuine instead of faux. Despite his cruel nature, the hatred imbedded inside of him from birth, Malvolio felt pity for this man left in his care. This man, left dying and alone by the city he swore to protect - it just was not fair at all.

"And so, with a heavy heart, I have decided that he shall not be left out in the cold, but welcomed into our arms with warmth and kindness, the same of which he has shown you. Yes, he is an adult - something we cannot trust."

A white lab coat was handed to him, and still speaking he slipped it on over his blazer, the sleeves rolled up over his wrists. "But you have seen his heart - he has sinned, he is selfish, he is unthinking. But he has been the only parent we have had. And we should not let that go to waste. A father would be nice to have again."

He tilted his head, turning to face his capture and loom like a white smoke shadow over the dying ashen form. The time was now - in his head, the gears were turning, and like his siblings, organic thought was becoming less important. He felt numb, cold and senseless, as if all that mattered was the machine inside and the machine that was soon to be on the table. Like a piece of meat to a wolf. He was hungry - he desired to devour the quivering soul and turn its empty shell into something useful. A father - if all Kotetsu could be was their father - then nothing else would matter when _he_ showed up to pass them their well deserved judgment.

And still the gears turned, and silver and gold licked his words and spat from his iron mouth. Titanium hands grasped copper ideas, wires running through his brain full of fibers and microchips and links to the Internet itself. What part of him was human anymore? That was something Kotetsu never understood.

It wasn't as if he could think and feel like something whole anymore.

His sister entered wearing her own lab coat, making her way to the table where the hero's suit parts had been set among other robotics and pieces of computer technology.  She was ready, a smile curling her lips.

"Cut him open. First we need to install the wires to the power source already inside." She grabbed a mess of wires. Ignoring how her voice caused Kotetsu's face to fall blank. It was probably better for him that way. He wasn't going to be medicated.

"Sky? Or as father has so christened, 'Storm'? Hand me that scalpel." Malvolio chuckled, swooping into to capture Amaryllis' lips in a kiss before the tiny sharp knife was handed over.

Situating himself on the left of Kotetsu's hip, he leaned forward and slowly began sinking the blade of the scalpel into the bruised, tanned flesh.

Kotetsu's body gave the slightest jerk, indicating pain, but between Ryan's powers holding him in place and Amaryllis' powers keeping his mind locked, Kotetsu was unable to cry out in pain or try to stop what was being done to his body. He was helpless, able to feel every deep cut, every drop of blood flowing against his tender skin… And at the same time unable to activate his powers, unable to escape.

But then again, what reason did he have to escape other than the selfish reason of escaping the pain? He was unwanted. He had no friends, and his family had left him for dead. He'd lost his home.

He deserved whatever he was given. He needed to lay back and take it.

"Hmmm... My brothers and sisters?" Malvolio hummed, hacking away at flesh and muscle as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Shall we... show Sternbild one final display of truth?"

"They would enjoy it as they seem to have enjoyed the others." Amaryllis said, "How cruel, humans are, how divided."

"Bad Kitty be punished!"

"Humans are selfish, egotistical creatures. They yearn for pain and suffering, taking pleasure in the plight of others. Even this man's husband refused to save him. So-"

Machines sitting up on the ceiling hummed to life, a camera and screen coming down to face the operating table and the 'doctors' at work.

"Good evening Sternbild."

* * *

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

Ryan frowned as his phone buzzed and he struggled to get it while wearing his hero suit.

"Uh—guys?" he said, starring at his screen, "We might want to hurry this search and rescue up a bit more…"

Barnaby looked up from where he sat between Fire Emblem and Rock Bison. The City Council had been more than useless in aiding the Heroes, even preferring to stay under the radar and wait for the military to arrive. Which, in Barnaby's reckoning, meant that they wanted to wait until it was too late. If they were going to do anything at all. He glanced down at his hands, feeling his wedding ring on his finger through the gloves.

Kotetsu - just how much damage had been done to the man in their absence?

It had taken longer to plan, gather and set out with the team than anticipated. Barnaby was dismayed to find every single one of the group members spread out, either fed up with the helplessness of the situation or having veered off on their own course in attempts to secure the city from any more threats.

Then came the problem of Saito. When Barnaby tired to contact the technician, static greeted him. Communications of the city had been shut down, whether purposefully or accidentally when Kotetsu had attempted to defuse the 'bombs' trough the main 'control' system. Luckily, Agnes seemed to be thinking along the same wavelength as Barnaby, and soon showed up close to their meeting point in the Hero TV helicopter.

And now here they were, flying over the ocean military style in the large broadcasting helicopter to rescue Kotetsu and arrest the clones. Barnaby had heard from Agnes that Blue Rose was seen with Kaede in the building; the Hero having caught up with the daughter of Wild Tiger in time to stop her from running off and escorted her back to Saito's lab, where she would presumably be kept secure unless moved to another safe location.

He was pleased, placing his trust in the ice NEXT to keep his step-daughter safe, and instead turn his focus to the task at hand.

Ryan turned his phone around to show the broadcast that had started. "They are literally cutting into him."

"WHAT?!"

Barnaby jerked to his feet, the weight of his suit shaking the copter nervously. Ignoring the protests and swears floating around him, he snatched the phone away from Ryan, staring at it with wide eyes.

"No...NOnononoNO!!"

"Can't this thing fly faster?" Ivan asked and the pilot shook his head.

"We are already at top speed."

"Let me help, and help again!" Sky High said, moving to the side and sliding open the door so that he could take control of the wind and manipulate it to favor their speed and direction.

Pao Lin shrieked as the ship took off at a break neck pace. Thrown into Nathan's lap, she clung tightly to him terrified. "KeittttthhhhhhH!!!!!!!!"

Barnaby had managed to stop himself from being thrown from the helicopter himself by grabbing onto the nearest object - which so happened to be Anotnio's drills - to steady his balance, but it didn't stop the number of obscene words flying out his mouth and into the wind.

But Keith only looked at them, "We all know Kotetsu would use his power to rescue any of us as quickly as possible. Why shouldn't we do the same? Don't worry, we won't crash."

"I should hope not." Bison grumbled, none too keen on having Barnaby and Ivan cling to him like... well, a rock.

"I know what I'm doing—and Tiger needs us." Keith insisted. They still had a long way to go, but every bit of speed would help.

"Should I un-mute the broadcast?" Ryan asked.

Barnaby swallow, ready to refuse, but nodded, deciding it was better to know what was being done than not at all.

Ryan nodded, turning up the volume, "Tell me if it's too much for you, Junior. I'll turn it off again."

Barnaby only nodded, his eyes glued to the screen as the surgery commenced and Malvolio continued to taunt the helpless Hero.

Rose's clone leaned in, her lips brushing up against Kotetsu's ear, "Such pain you are in. Relax, it will all be over soon." She played with his hair, brushing her fingers through it, "You will know our pain, you will soon understand…Only the unwanted can love the unwanted. We are your family now, I'll ease your pain with my voice; I'll keep you from screaming and hurting yourself, Father. Later, we will ease your pain." She moved to kiss his lips, then

Kotetsu didn't respond; he was unable to, even as the scalpel made another cut into his skin and he felt something being shoved inside him.

"He'll need a new leg." Stormy observed as he assisted, "This one of flesh looks like it is dying."

"Take the one from his suit." Malvolio murmured, digging around in Kotetsu's insides. "It'll be of much better use - and armored. Yes... Father looks good in armor. We'll make him one with his armor, make him a knight."

Pao Lin looked like she was going to throw up.

"Oh dear…" Nathan frowned. It seemed they would not be getting him back in one piece.

"He will need it—decreased his power again in the last real battle. Idiot somehow activated it when it should have been impossible. I could feel his decrease when I touched him." H-01 said, "Father is weak. He'll need the protection."

"Oh really?" Malvolio raised an eyebrow, still focus on playing around with wires and organs. "So that's it for the famous Hundred Power. Shame, really - we need power."

He shifted his eyes to the minotaur hovering close by out of curiosity.

"Perhaps... We'll use Crete's model as a base. Splicing seems to be the best way to go at this point. Though with his DNA... hmm. I wonder how far we can go?"

"Kitty!" little Ryan said, "Make bad kitty into silly kitty!" Unlike the other clones who all were children at heart but possessed advanced brilliance in matters of science, Ryan was a true child, still learning and developing and didn't quite understand what Malvolio was talking about.

Malvolio could only chuckle. "Yes, darling, we will make him into a very silly looking kitty for you~"

He frowned, reaching in and staring down at something inside Kotetsu's body. "...Okay, who removed his liver on me?"

"I don't want to hear it anymore!" Pao-Lin gasped, clamping her hands over her ears, "They are horrible!"

Barnaby sunk back into his seat, too much in shock to say anything really. But then, it was the next sound that made his heart almost stop completely.

Kotetsu's breath suddenly hitched, creating a desperate gasping sound, drool running down his cheek as his body began to convulse violently enough to break the ice cradling him in place. Ryan released him, gasping. He'd been witness to many robotic surgeries before as the clones needed new parts or replacements, but never had anything like this happened.

"What happen?!" he gasped as Kotetsu's good leg kicked out, pushing him off the operating table.

Malvolio swore loudly, pulling out of the Hero and backing away with wide eyes. Ivory howled, pushing himself up and racing over to his mother's side, wailing as he shoved his face into Kotetsu's hand.

Kotetsu's body was stiff, his heart beating rapidly in his chest which increased his blood loss as he grew deathly pale. His eyes rolled back in his head, and then—it stopped.

His body fell still, sinking back down against the cold table supporting him, a long, slow breath escaping past his lips. Seconds ticked by after that in complete silence.

The world ground to a halt for Barnaby. His chest constricted, the air flying from his lungs at the same time

Barnaby's scream was the only sound within the helicopter, every other heroes and the pilot trapped in a stunned silence.

"Is he..?" Ivan whispered as Barnaby's scream reached the end of his breath and turned into emotionally pained gasps. He didn't want to say it…didn't want it to be true.

On the screen, the clones all seemed equally as stunned, none of them moving or saying a word as their game screeched to an end.

Only Ivory's howls of pain and distress sounded to match Barnaby, the pup mourning the loss of his mother. Flower soon followed, crying more humanly than her brother over Tiger's lifeless form.

"Did he..?" White Rose asked, reaching out to touch Kotetsu's cheek. It was strangely clammy under her fingers.

"Yes." Malvolio spoke at last, his voice grave. "He is dead."

"Why?" she demanded, "We followed procedure like every other time! He's ours! He can't leave us!"

"He has." Malvolio snapped at her. "Father...was too weak from the pain humans have caused. He has never felt the loving connection with machinery as we have. It was too much for Father."

He scowled.

"This isn't how we were supposed to play."

"They killed him…" she gathered Kotetsu into her arms, "We just wanted a father…and they killed him…"

"More like you killed him!" Ivan shouted at Ryan's phone, "His body couldn't handle being cut into after everything you did to him before! It was all…too much for him…"

Barnaby shuddered, collapsing to the floor. His world was gone. Kotetsu... His Kotetsu...

It was all too much to bear. He felt numb, all feelings removed in place of a cold, suffocating void. He could not think, would not speak.

He wasn't even breathing.

Barnaby Brooks Jr. lay upon the floor a loose heap, still and unmoving.

"Ohh-handsome!" Nathan grabbed Barnaby, pulling him up and fanning him, "No, don't do this. Come on, wake up I know it hurts, but we need you…"

But Barnaby lay limp in Nathan's arm, his body slowly growing cold.

"Land." Nathan demanded, "I know we have a ways more to travel, but I need to keep him warm and fire up here is not a good idea."

"We're over water, there's no place to land!" Agnes called from the cockpit. "What happened?! Are we under attack?"

"No…worse." Nathan shook his head, "Handsome has passed out from emotional overload, and he is losing body heat fast!"

"Another broadcast started on Ryans phone and…" Dragon kid tearfully bit her lip and turned to hide her face into Ivan's shoulder.

"Kotetsu…he didn't make it…" Antonio finished, emotion choking his words.

"WHAT?!" the producer rose from her seat, rushing into the back where the Heroes sat huddled in mourning. "What... are you talking about?!"

"Um... Fire Emblem?" Keith whimpered, looking at Barnaby's unmoving cheat. "I... don't think Barnaby is passed out..."

"What? Okay, quick, everyone crowd over on Bison! I need space!" Nathan demanded, laying Barnaby out flat on his back once he was able, stripping off the firm plates of armor from his head and chest, and quickly starting CPR, pumping his chest, concentrating on counting pumps before blowing air into his lungs.

For the first couple of minutes, everything was silent, still and eerily cold. Then, Barnaby's throat constricted, a loud gasp of air intake sounding before the Hero promptly vomited.

"That's it. Breathing is good." Nathan sighed in relief.

"But... Tiger..." Keith bit his lip and looked at the phone in Ryan's hand, still displaying the clones crowded around the broken body upon the table.

"... It's over." Malvolio shook his head. "Father has left us. We have no one else. Our one chance has failed - we were doomed from the start."

A small smile crossed his lips.

"So he will be here soon... and the fires will burn us away... it's about time."

"The pain will go away?" little Ryan asked.

"Ohh—my fires will burn you, all right. But that will only be the beginning of your pain, not the end." Nathan growled. Helping Barnaby to sit up and using his cape to brush off  the smudged lipstick from the blond's mouth.

Barnaby only moaned through a mouthful of sick, feeling dizzy and weak, his eyes unfocused.

Malvolio only smiled at his son, picking him up and kissing the top of his head. "Yes, my little one - our pain will go away in the fire. We will find release."

Little Ryan looked down, "I like the pain…"

"The pain we feel inside of us" his father reassured him. "It will stop your heart's owy."

Ryan placed his hand over his chest, "It always there. I wanna keep it…"

"You'll get a new kind of pain - better than the last one." his father soothed. "Trust me, little one."

Ryan leaned against his father with an unsure look upon his face.

Malvolio merely stroked his hair, letting out a soft sigh of contentment. Even if Kotetsu was gone... their pain would soon be lifted by the voice of the anti. The demon that followed in the Heroes' shadows.

 

* * *

 

A lone figure stood high above the old abandoned science center built above old ruins. His proud figure was covered in grays, blues, and greens; not an inch of skin or hair showing.

"It's a shame…" he said, tilting his masked head to the side as he eyed the scene, "You were a good hero, innocent of crimes. I would have spared you, Wild Tiger. But now there is no point. I can not risk saving a dead man. You will burn along with the evil. My condolences to those who love you."

The anti-hero raised his hand, fire of blue and green appearing and springing forward at the building.

The moment the flame sunk deep into the belly of the facility, it ruptured. The place exploded in a flurry of rock, stone and metal, flames and sparks bursting and dancing from openings and cracks, smoke billowing to surround the area. Fire sprang up like Hell itself, slowly engulfing the area like a virus.

Lunatic jumped back, his eyes wide behind his mask. His flames weren't that powerful. There had to have been some sort of fuel, which didn't make any sense, unless…

"I see…so you had been not only expecting me…but inviting me…" He frowned and nodded, "You will not escape your fate, now."

Turning, he quickly disappeared.

* * *

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Years, our dear readers!

Karina cursed, increasing the speed of her bike as she zoomed across the ocean, icey frozen salt water forming a straight solid path beneath her treads and skates. When she'd unfroze herself back in Saito's lab, she'd raced out just in time to catch Kaede fiddling with the locks on one of the cases containing a copy of her father's Hero Suit. Repaying the favor through ice and a cold scolding, she'd escorted the girl back to the lab, bumping into Agnes who quickly informed the Ice NEXT about the situation with Tiger and the clones.

What happened next was a blur. She remembered sitting Kaede on a chair, Saito chiding them both for messing up his workspace, when a stabbing cold pain struck through her body and she fell to the floor with black spots in her eyes.

She awoke later face first on the floor, body aching and covered in a thin layer of her own frost. Saito was in a similar state, slumped over on his desk with an ugly bruise on his head. Karina had never had much contact with the man before, but it was certainly a first to see the normally quiet and reserved technician vent angrily about wild, uncontrollable children and unstable powers.

But the worst came to light when he wandered further back into his lab and came rushing out a moment later proclaiming theft of a new, prototype suit. And yet he seemed oddly pleased. Karina was less than so.

And with a little pressuring - hereby meaning threats and more tiny scientists encased in a sheet of rage induced ice - Karina soon raced from the building in a fit of panic. Her bike, parked outside in the empty street, roared with life as she took off down the road, winter's touch guiding her way.

Luckily, it seemed Kaede's inexperience with Saito's advanced technology had left her hindered, and Karina soon caught sight of the girl gliding askew above her by the Justice Tower. She revved up her engine and followed her, right as the girl figured out how to use her boosters and took off towards the ocean.

It had been that way since then for hours, Karina struggling to keep up with the wild daughter of Tiger, always a few yards behind. She shivered, thankful her powers were not exhaustible like Barnaby or Kotetsu's. All around her was a stretch of blue, Sternbild left far behind and no sign of any other land in sight for miles.

They had traveled for days, and they were both exhausted, but neither refused to stop.

"KAEDE!" she screamed up over at the girl, not for the first time, her throat raw and starting to crack.

Kaede ignored her, eyes trained straight ahead as the built-in navigator in her mask showed her the way to her destination. "Hold on, Dad, I'm coming. Don't give up yet." She muttered.

Having left far before Barnaby and his team of Heroes had gotten around to finally leaving, she soon spotted land, and with it, the old snow-dusted science center on the coast where her father was being held captive.

Her heart hammered with a nervous excitement as she gave another boost of speed, heading straight for it when suddenly there was an explosion. Blue and green flames quickly engulfing the center and licking at the sky above.

With a gasp, she stopped, hitting the ground and rolling a few feet before her momentum finally let her come to a rest in the frozen dirt. She pushed herself up and starred at the flames.

"No—NO! DAD!" She began running towards the inferno.

Karina was about to call to the girl again when the sight of blue and green made her heart almost skitter to a halt. Fire, hot and blazing uncontrollably, licked at the ruins of the old research facility like hungry dogs, snorting hot billowing smoke into the sky.

No... NO!

Gasping, she stepped on the gas, roaring and racing uncontrollably over the waves and ice until she hit land. Her bike landed rough on the hot, scorched ground, letting out an angry growl as she stepped off and killed the engine before racing after Kaede.

"KAEDE GET AWAY FROM THERE!" she screamed, panicking at the flames grew more intense and the building started to creak and whined and cave inwards.

"Dad's in there!" Kaede screamed, "I won't let him burn—I won't let him die!"

"Kae-"

Karina was cut off with a scream as the upper half of the building exploded, raining hot fire and rock and debris down upon the two girls. Karina yelped as a particularly sharp piece caught her shoulder, sending her tripping and falling to the side.

Knowing Karina was a hero and could take care of herself, Kaede continued to press forward, using the borrowed ice powers to surround herself in the frozen water particles as she entered the heat, refreshing the ice supply as it evaporated to keep a protective bubble around herself.

Karina groaned, struggling to pull herself upright. Her shoulder bore a nasty gash, blood oozing steadily from the wound in streams. Wincing, she touched the injury, pulling away with her fingers touched the bruised, sliced and burned skin. Her eyes glanced back up to catch the retreating form of Kaede running through the fires, into the shuddering ruins. Gasping, she made to run after her, only for a sharp pain to shoot up from her ankle and send her toppling back down. Tears welled up in her eyes, the notion of a sprained ankle adding to her list of hindrances as Kaede slipped farther away into the fire and from her reach.

Kaede searched the fortress as much as she could, finding that her path was blocked too many times for her liking. But finally she spotted a head of brown hair laying upon a table in a room after she kicked the burning door in.

"Dad! Dad, I'm here! Are you hurt? Can you walk?" She hurried in to help him up and guide him back out—only to stop short with a ear-piercing, blood-curdling scream.

There, upon the table ay her father as still as the grave. His torso cut open with wires dangling out of him. His leg had been cut off and the leg armor from his suit had been half-attached. His eyes were dead and clouded over, mouth hanging open as if he were a horror movie prop. His arm dangling over the side of the table had caught on fire, the unusual flames creeping up his arm.

Too late…she was too late… Her father…had followed her mother into Heaven…she was alone, and the last thing she had ever said to her father was denying him a simple hug—a show of affection.

"No—Daddy, no… **_NO!!!!_** " She screamed again, tears rolling down her cheeks as there was an uncontrollable burst of ice sweeping across the room, putting out flames and even freezing things, though it melted quickly.

She grabbed her father, pulling his body to her, cradling it in her mourning.

It hurt—it hurt more than anything she could ever imagine.

"Daddy—Daddy come back…please, Daddy!"

The clap of shoes on the hot metal floor caught her ears, and a silky smooth voice chuckled into her ear from somewhere in the shadows of the flames.

"It's a shame, isn't it? How things turned out this way."

Dark matter hissed, delicately pushing away fire like simple blades of glass as the clone of Kaede's step-father stepped out of the shadow's abyss and into view. He smiled at her, his hair burned at the tips and the synthethic skin of his cheek melting away slowly from the heat, exposing the wire and metal hidden underneath. His red eyes flickered with a fire of their own, a glimmer of hope and insanity mingled together with childish innocence, and cruelty.

Malvolio stepped over to her, ignoring the flames trying to grasp at his singed body, the dark shadows of his sins crackling and dancing around him in unholy lightning. He stared down at the girl cradling her father's dead body, the corpse still as a doll. His mouth set in a frown, a betrayed, hurt and irritated gesture all at once.

"He failed, your father did. But it was not his fault. It is yours." he glared over at her, his frown becoming a cruel smile. "All your father ever wanted was to go home to you. Go home to his child. But you never wanted him there. You never understood what he did. And would it matter - he was criminal in his own right. He followed the rule of a drunk, alcoholic man, did things for his own selfish reasons... he killed your mother, left her when he should have stayed. He left you with his mother, abandoned. And when you gave him the chance to go back, he left you again without hesitation. This human being - he acts so noble. But your father was he noble really at all?"

Kaede grit her teeth, holding her father closer, "You think you're _soooo_ smart, don' you? That you understand everything you observed. But you know _nothing_!"

Tears wouldn't stop falling and sobs interrupted her words as she choked on her emotions. "It's deeper than that, more complex."

"Oh, I know child." Malvolio cooed, creeping a little closer. Like a wolf hunting a lamb, his eyes wild and fierce. "But poor Daddy... All he ever wanted was a hug. Do you know how much he cried for you whist here? How saddened he was when it finally hit him how little his dear daughter cares about him. And your step father - why, he hasn't even bothered to come rescue his poor, poor husband. Ha!"

He giggled, the darkness around him growing more unstable.

"So much for love, hm?"

More ice formed around Kaede and her father's body, sharp shards of it shooting up and pointing at the fake Barnaby to keep him from approaching. The girl glared venomously, "You used my father's insecurities against him. You used them to wear him down to the point where he'd believe your lies before you murdered him. The same won't work on me. Don't you think I know what I did to my father? If you did you already know the pained regret I now have to live with for the rest of my life!"

She was glad for the fire that had melted the flesh from the robotic-clone's face. He didn't look so much like Barnaby anymore, facing him face-to-face wouldn't cause her to harbor some hate for her step-father like this.

"And Barnaby wouldn't leave Father to this. He's on his way, you can be sure of that! You assume too much with that computerized brain of yours! Barnaby loves dad more than anything! But you—you won't be here to see it." Kaede stood up, surprisingly strong as she was able to bring her father's body with her. She lifted an arm and fresh ice shot forward at the clone, aiming for his heart.

She had a dark look upon her face—almost void of emotion. Only the tears rolling down her cheeks were indication of what she felt inside. "I will never forgive you for taking my father from me.

At first, nothing sounded but the cold hiss of ice. And then, the sound of chuckling grated against Kaede's ears.

"Cute little trick." Malvolio purred, the ice shard stuck in his chest, melting away from the heat. "Want to see mine now?"

The darkness around the man roared to life, springing at and lunging at Kaede like a pack of wolves. Sharp teeth and claws bared, cutting and sinking into her flesh with enough force to take down a horse. Were she not a NEXT, the girl would have been dead from the shock in seconds.

And Malovlio knew that, still standing and seemingly unscathed as he let himself become shrouded in his own element, becoming a monster of man and machine.

Kaede screamed out in pain, but refused to let go of her departed father. Ice powers were great for keeping away the burn of the fire, but she needed something better to fight this NEXT.

She caught a glimpse of metal and forced herself to drop Kotetsu in favor of charging into the darkness. She only needed to touch him…

Reaching out, she felt her hand smack into a body, and the cold residue of ice and flurries around her disappeared, replaced with the same darkness attacking her.

Breathing hard, she ignored the pain and reached into the new power to figure out how it worked. Sending bolts of pain at Malovio as she did so.

The impact caused a miniature explosion, sending both Kaede and Malvolio flying back against the walls. Malvolio groaned, shivering as his body quaked with the effects of the shock. Well that was a new one - he never knew a NEXT to _copy_ his power before.

And yet, seeing a familiar robotic hand reach out and squeeze the girl's shoulder from a crack in the wall, he grinned.

Kaede felt strange, feeling her NEXT Powers flickering at lightning speed.

"Ah, H-01... how kind of you to finally show up!"

Kaede gasped, stiffening. Not her father's clone, anyone but that one. She couldn't look—couldn't bear to see the face of her father as her enemy.

Malvolio in turn chuckled at her discomfort, watching the hand slowly retreat away into the crack, footsteps clanking slowly behind the wall before the metal surface started to bulge, giving way slowly to a powerful force.

Malvolio looked at Kaede again and grinned maliciously. "Little girl," he cooed, "won't you try again?"

But Kaede was covering her face with her hands, dreading to see her father's evil twin.

"Oh?" Malvolio rose to his feet as the wall gave way and the haphazard clone of Kotetsu stepped into the room, his face untouched by the heat and smoke of the fire.

Sneaking over to the girl, avoiding touching the biorobot, Malvolio knelt down by the girl's side and roughly pried her hands away from her face. He gazed into her eyes, grinning at her with a sharp, sadistic smile.

"Little girl... dare you not speak?"

Kaede's face was one of pure pain and horror. "No!" She snapped her eyes shut, her shoulders shaking.

"Oh? That's too bad..." dark matter crackled around the clone's hands, still holding her wrists tight. "Because that might have saved you a little more time. Cowardice is thy greatest flaw, so they say."

Kaede cried out in pain, feeling the same torture that her father had felt a few times during his stay. But she was able to turn it around against him.

Keeping her eyes firmly shut she summoned the darkness, forcing it back out into her father's murderer. " _Die_." She hissed.

Malvolio's eyes widened as his own power came surging back at him. Screeching, he pushed Kaede away, falling back and into the awaiting arms of his faithful manservant. H-01 looked down at the withering White Rabbit with a smirk.

"I told you to be wary of the girl-"

"Shut up!" Malvolio snarled, righting himself and untangling from H-01's arms. His previous annoyance replaced with full blown fury, he hissed and readied himself for another attack-

-only for nothing to come out.

Malvolio stared, blinking rapidly. He tried again, summoning the darkness within; nothing. Cursing, confusion overriding, he was about to vocalize his complaints when H-01's smirk caught his eye and it all clicked together.

"Ahhhh, yes. My mistake."

He purred, stepping aside, letting a stray flame of fire lick away at the sleeve of his suit.

"She is all yours, H-01."

The android grinned at him, teeth bared and eyes hungry, before turning his attention to the daughter of his original huddled up against the blackened wall. He took two heavy steps towards her and paused, eyes drifting to the dead body of Kotetsu. Then back at Kaede, a nasty grin on his synthetic face.

"Pathetic child." he growled, reaching down to pull Kotetsu up by the hair. The limp body rustled like a plastic bag, some of its contents slipping out of the torn front onto the floor.

"To be afraid of something so artificial."

He lifted the head to his face, and with the gross intent of something unsympathetic, pressed his lips on Kotetsu's cold, dead mouth, and drank the blood spill out from his throat.

Kaede peaked through her fingers, keeping her gaze low and seeing H-01's feet next to the dangling ones of her father. She didn't know what he was dong, but she didn't want him touching her dad!

"Don't touch him!" she screeched, crawling forward and attacking with dark energy as she tried to pull her father away from his grasp.

But H-01 continued to stand, continued to stay in a lip lock with her dead father. Slowly, he pulled away, darkness still dancing around him, and grinned at her. Nothing, not even a scratch on him. It was at that point that the girl had realized that her step father's clone had gone missing, his voice chuckling from the shadows once again.

"It's interesting isn't it? We can face up to danger, but our nightmares hold us down no matter what we do."

H-01 tenderly stroke Kotetsu's bloodied chin, his tongue brushing over the stubble almost tauntingly. Then, reaching in, he slunk his hand into the dead man's chest before tugging out the most vital item - his heart.

"Allow me to demonstrate what you have done to your dear father..."

And burst of dark, nasty power, exploded the organ into a mess.

Kaede had looked up enough to see the action, and she screamed as her father's blood and parts of his heart rained down upon her as she clung to her father's dangling legs. "Stop it! Stop! You people have done more than enough to my dad!"

The fires her previous ice powers had pushed back were starting to overtake the room again, closing in on them.

H-01 grinned at her. "That's true. I suppose we'll stop - after all, we have you now to play with us!"

He raised his hand to grab her, grinning like a lunatic, when the air around them grew cold and a sudden burst of ice crashed into the android, shoving him back into the wall and freezing him up to his head. The biorobot yelp, his circuits sparking from the quickly melting water, the ice continuing to pile on until it locked him completely in place.

Standing in the door way, her gun raised and his face livid, Blue Rose spent no mercy on the android.  In the light of the fire, Kaede could see the mess she had become. Hair askew, her tiara burnt at the ends, scorch marks littering her face and body. Her shoulder was a bloodied, limp mess, and she stood on one leg only, the other held at an odd angle. But the fury in her eyes and cold chill of her ice was more than enough to indicate the level of will power and strength the Hero had left in her.

" _Leave. Kaede. Alone_." she snarled, her voice laced with venom.

Kaede gathered her father back into her arms, sobbing when she saw the further damage done to his chest. No respect—these _things_ had no respect!" She got up and pulled her father over to Karina, "He-he's gone…th-they killed him… my dad's gone…" She choked.

Karina's eyes narrowed. Locking in on H-01, she turned her gun to the side. The android snorted. "Child, we have been through this. It won't work. I am ice proof."

Blue Rose shrugged.

"True." she hummed, moving her gun over and open flame. A nasty smiled lit up her face. "But are you water proof?"

Pulling the now flaming gun back, she aimed again and fired. But instead of ice, a jet of hot, boiling water shot out, hitting the biorobot in the head. The creature screamed, its system overriding and sparking, fires springing up and igniting it from the inside out as water seeped in and tore it apart.

Kaede still didn't look at her father's double, keeping her eyes on her real father. "I want him to pay—the leader—the one that looks like Barnaby—I want him to pay for what he's done."

"He will." Karina promised, her voice unusually cold and flat. "He will pay dearly."

"First, we need to get Dad out—before they hurt him more…like that one did…"

Karina only nodded, turning to guide Kaede out when soft chuckles sounded behind her. Standing in the light of the fire, a genuine smile on his face, Malvolio nodded to the two girls.

"There won't be a next time, my dears. For this, you see, is the end."

He lifted his head, tears running down his cheeks and a laugh of relief bubbling in his throat as the fires continue to eat away him.

"I'm free. We are free. We are all free."

He nodded to H-01, to the now charred forms of Ivory and Flower lying crumpled on the floor, and then to the secondary figure appearing out of the fire.

"We suffered long, you see. All my life, darkness has been my parent. I nursed off its breast of evil from my birth, and have never weaned. But now... now it's gone. He died with my power in his clutches. As he promised he would. As we planned it."

He took the hand of his sister, her face slowly eroding in a mix of flame and melting skin and metal. He touched the hand of his son, curled up in her arms. Little Ryan was no longer moving.

"As we wished it."

Slowly, he started back, walking towards the fire with his sister. The flames licked at them, catching their bodies with hungry teeth and claws, eating away even as they walked into the abyss and out of sight for the final time.

"Oh no you don't! You don't get to go the way you want! You don’t get to go peacefully! Not after you tortured Dad like you did! Not after you murdered him with pain and cruelty!" Kaede reached out with the dark powers she had copied.

But it was too late, the clones long gone, literally and figuratively. Karina scowled, a shadow falling over her face as she looked down into the dead eyes of her once love interest. Her heart quivered and yet... all she felt was a cold, seeping numbness sweep over her. As if her own ice were encasing the confines of her heart.

Suddenly the world didn't seem as bright, as fair. The prospect of 'arrest' was laughable. She didn't want arrest anymore. She wanted revenge. She wanted desire. She wanted pain.

Looking down at her hands, the blood coating her fingers, a twisted smile marred her face.

She... wanted that .

She wanted red.

Kaede looked up at Karina, finding a mutual mind set as their eyes met. "Blood… Pain…those who take a life don't deserve a life. My dad always saw the good in people—But he was mistaken. He was wrong and it led to this." She looked back down at her father, "I want to make sure this ends. Bring _true_ justice to those hurt by evil deeds."

Katrina could only nod in agreement. "Justice... Tiger's justice..."

Kaede nodded, wiping away tears and blood from her cheeks, "You'll help me, Karina? Even if we can't get that man…you'll help me?"

Karina glanced down at the girl, her eyes glinting with a dangerous light. Her smile hadn't wavered, all but still plastered over her face.

"Yes." she purred, her heart thudding dangerously in her chest.

As long... as she got to taste it again. That rush when she pulled the trigger. The fires that burned inside at the satisfying sight of her enemy lying dead and broken, still withering as their last strands of life wriggle away. The relief when she realized it was over, that they were never coming back and it was just one less evil in the world.

But the blood on her hands... she felt an odd, strange desire stir inside of her as she watched rivers of red trickle down her burnt hands. Something about the color, the consistency, the way it dyed everything its path as a reminder of pain, revenge and death...

It allured her. And she knew that Kaede felt the same inside. This was a sign - no, a calling. This was a time for change.

 

* * *

 

Working together as if they had been a team for years, Kaede and Karina safely found their way out of the burning death-trap with Kotetsu's body. He deserved a proper burial. A plot next to his late wife where he could finally find peace.

Kaede lay her father down a safe ways away from the flames before collapsing next to Karina as they took rest before trying to head back to Sternbild. "How badly are you hurt?" she asked, trying to distract herself from the fact she had just lost her father—and that Barnaby hadn't shown up after all. She didn't want to cry, and she didn't want to be angered. She felt numb; this new lonely world she lived in was cold and unforgiving—just like Karina's ice. It was fitting, and she found herself drawn to those icy powers. "Let me see them, I took a first aid class not long ago."

Karina let her, staring up at the sky with a blank expression. She couldn't feel anything at all; not pain, sadness or even anger. Just an empty void where her heart should have been. It made her wonder if she even had a heart to begin with... or if it was just the old man who had put one into her. The moment he was gone, she lost everything. Nothing held meaning to her now, the bitter taste of loss sticking to her tongue.

Finally, after moments of silence, of Kaede tending to her wounds without looking at the body of her father, Karina spoke at long last.

"We should leave. We should go to them."

And she wasn't referring to the Heroes, or even Sternbild,

"Them?" Kaede looked up at Karina questioningly.

"The others... I think the others are coming."

She pointed to a helicopter flying off into the distant, it's red body familiar and almost comforting. She knew she was being irritation, asking the poor girl to run away right as her only remaining piece of family was coming to get her and her father, but that notion was swiftly smoldered by the growing feeling of revenge, selfish desire and need for blood.

Kaede had just used her borrowed ice powers to form a ball of ice and was pressing it to Karina's ankle when the helicopter appeared and was coming in fast.

"He did come…he did come to try and save Dad…" she smiled, glad she hadn't been wrong about Barnaby. She couldn't be mad at him for being so late—after all, she and Karina had also been too late to save him.

She looked at the now collapsed building, still burning, "How's _that_ for love?" she sneered at it.

Karina said nothing in response, though her eyes did narrow a fraction.

Kaede sighed, "You know, I hope he escaped. I hope he ran from the fire. I hope he's alive—so that I can be the one to kill him."

"We will." Karina promised. "We will make him pay."

Provided he was alive. However, that was a problem Karina was less than concerned about at the moment.

"If we linger... they will see us..."

Kaede gave another sigh. She was right.  Barnaby would make sure her father was taken care of properly. But if he discovered her here, she wouldn't get a chance at revenge again.

She nodded as the others began to land behind a row of trees in a clearing, "Alright, let's go." She looked back at her father's body one last time, "Goodbye…dad…"

 

* * *

 

Barnaby stumbled out of the helicopter, staggering only a couple of feet before collapsing to his knees feeling dizzy. The heat of the fire stretched as far as the sea, not even the cool ocean breeze was enough to stop the sweltering temperatures. For Barnaby, who was less than okay after his heart failure, it was too much to take. But the sight of the building, dying under the flames of Thanotos, was enough to bring the Hero up to his feet and push onwards.

He pushed through the trees, struggling against arms of branches and fingering pine needles, coming out into a clearing just before the entrance to the coliseum.

He froze in place. Lying before him, stretched out bruised and battered and mauled, was the remains of his husband's corpse. A strangle scream ripped from his throat and he rushed forward to the man's side. Collapsing beside his head, he tenderly placed a hand on the bloodied, torn chest, jerking away as his palm sank through the skin as if it were an empty paper back.

The other heroes followed behind keeping their distance as Barnaby found his husband.

"Looks like Lunatic beat us…" Nathan muttered, eyeing the flames that rivaled his own. "I've no doubt that our clones and any one else in there are now dead… Ahh, at least he brought out Kotetsu for us."

He looked away from the slowly dying flames and over to Barnaby as he mourned his loss again, now that it was confirmed without a doubt.

Barnaby was oblivious to the other Heroes, sobbing over Kotetsu. His world... his only reason for being was gone. Kaede... oh dear God, what was he to say to Kaede? She would be suffering just as much, if not more - first her mother, and now her father.

Unfair... this was unfair.

"Kotetsu..." Barnaby choked one last time before blacking out once again, falling against his husband's chest as if it were simply the two of them in bed, going to sleep for another long night.

"Crap! You better be breathing!" Nathan ran forward to check, giving a sigh of relief when he found that the blond was actually just passed out this time. He scooped him up into his arms, "Let's get them back to Sternbild. There isn't much we can do about Lunatic's flames. But they are dying down and will be out soon, anyway."

"I called ahead to get fire fighters out here to deal with this." Agnes said, hanging up her phone. "There is a sheet in the back, use that to cover his body…it’s a shame Blue Rose isn't with us, her ice would help preserve the body…"

"Um..." Ryan swallowed, looking uncharacteristically nervous. "I... just got a call from that Saito guy. He said that Tiger's daughter, 'Kaede', knocked him and Rose out. When they came to, he found a prototype of a suit he was working on missing, and Rose went after Kaede. He said they left before we did... he hasn't heard from Rose since..."

"…Like father-like daughter." Agnes sighed, rubbing her temples, "Okay, we need to get the body back before it starts decaying, but any volunteers to stay behind and search for the girls? I'll send the helicopter back to pick you up."

"I'll stay." Ryan volunteered, Sky High and Rock Bison nodding after him. Origiami hesitated, but slowly nodded in turn, biting his lip under his helmet to stop himself from shedding tears.

"Good. Find the girls and help Blue Rose bring the girl back home. I'll handle getting these two back and start preparing things." The woman turned to get back in the cockpit, leaving Nathan to place both Barnaby and Kotetsu in back.

Ryan and the others nodded, turning back to venture into the remains of the fire to search for the two missing girls.

* * *

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As we got some questions about H-01's powers, here's a little explanation: H-01's powers are kinda like Kaede's. He has the ability to STEAL another NEXT's powers for an hour before it goes back to the NEXT he stole it from. That's why it worked on Malvolio and not Kaede. With Kaede their powers just kept switching back and forth at lightning speed as they touched, constantly resetting their powers back to default.


	4. Chapter 4

**One Year Later**

**Monday, April 7th.**

* * *

The skies were cloudy, a light rain drizzling over the open fields of Oriental Town. The wind blew soft across the empty streets, crying with the early spring storm. Thunder grumbled up in the sky, but thankfully remained too stubborn to release its anger in heavy, burning flashes.

For the tiny town, the storm was a blessing to the drought and late winter their gardens and farms had bore witness to that past March. But for the stretch of a tiny graveyard, the rain represented the opposite. The mourning of the deceased, crying clouds offering their grief in the place of the countless souls buried there, alone and forgotten on that cold spring day.

Until the gates creaked open and a lone figure stumbled inside. Mused and muddied, his breath reeking of booze and cigarette smoke, he staggered past the wet crosses and engraved stones, leaving a muddy trail in his wake.

His bloodshot eyes squinted through his soaking hair, plastered to his head limp and graying at the roots, searching in a drunken haze for something. He found it seconds later, the sight of two graves sitting side by side in the second to last row.

He choked, his weak lungs letting out a small cough as the air was sucked out of them. Even a year later, after everything had settled down, he still couldn't get over it.

And how could he?

He only made it two steps in before his legs - once proud and strong - turned to jelly and sent him falling down into a nearby puddle. He cursed, knowing he should have put his braces on that morning. Coughing up a mix of water and mud, he groaned before starting to drag himself over to the graves.

The stone was slick and wet against his calloused hands, fingers grappling desperately for a secure hold as his hips refused to cooperate in letting him sit upright. Giving up, he resolved to an odd lounging position, forced to stare blank faced at the names engraved in stone.

He choked again, salty tears falling from his eyes.

"Here lies Kotetsu T. Kaburagi - Wild Tiger - A Loving Husband, Father and Hero."

"Kotetsu..."

His voice rough and broken, Barnaby Brooks Jr. traced his fingers over the engraved letters of his husband's tombstone.

It had been a year and three months since the man's death. Barnaby still couldn't believe it - it felt like a dream, a nightmare he would eventually awaken from. Kotetsu's death left a mark on his heart that he couldn't remove or recover from.

But it wasn't just Kotetsu who left Barnaby that day.

After returning to Sternbild with the body, Barnaby had succumbed to grief. Broken, over the death of his husband, he quickly entered a state of bad health and was hospitalized for months on end. It was in that time that he learned even more tragic news - his stepdaughter, whom he was entrusted to raise should Kotetsu pass on, had indeed escaped from Saito's lab and gone after Kotetsu in one of the technician's newer prototype suits. Saito refused to comment, whether it was in mourning of the situation or the loss, but had mentioned that Rose had gone after Tiger's daughter.

Neither had been heard from since.

It was only later when Barnaby was in the midst of recovery did the news come back that they had found two things in the remains of the fire at Ouroboros's ruined research facility.

Blue Rose's tiara, bits of the prototype suit...and two charred female bodies.

What was left of Barnaby's world crumbled to dust. His health took a turn for the worse and as a result, he was removed from Hero duty. The doctors stated that it was the first heart attack, but Barnaby knew better. His heart itself was caving in from all the grief. His family, his whole world, had disappeared from him forever—just as his parents had. And nothing would ever replace or bring that back.

Sniffling, he turned his attention to the grave next to his husband's... his daughter's headstone. Reaching out with shaking hands, he stroked the smooth, wet stone with a longing, loving touch.

"Kaede... Sweetheart, I'm so sorry..."

Life had escaped him since then. Though removed off duty, he was still a celebrity, and his fame allowed him to continue on well off with money. Money that was soon spent on material goods.

He took up drinking first. The burning sensation of alcohol running down his throat served as his punishment for failing his husband. It was Kotetsu's bad habit, but Barnaby found comfort in the slow unsteadiness the drunken haze brought him. At times, he almost felt human again. Alive, free and happy. So he kept it up, drinking until his liver doubled over and spewed. A drunken mishap with a car left him with cracked knees.

Then came the smoking. He picked it up one night after 'befriending' a couple of drunken bar members down in the Silver Stage. Whist stumbling out of the bar a giggling mess, one of them offered him a cigarette before abandoning him on the side of the road. Since then, it had been a comfort, replacing many meals and suffocating the stress (and his lungs) effectively.

It was that same night of the cigarette that he learned the wonders - and woes - of drug abuse. Staggering into a back alley, he inhaled a mouthful of spiked smoke from the little white stick in his mouth and was immediately overcome with the feeling of bliss and blankness. He wandered around for hours, staring at random objects and screaming at a brick wall thinking it was his deceased husband before someone found him and returned him home. Thankfully -in his opinion at least - they only assumed he was drunk off his ass.

However, it wasn't long before his little 'habits' became public and the City Council took concern. As a result Agnes and Llyod looked over his care and rehabilitation. Barnaby savagely wondered if it was only to bring him back to the show. They placed him in therapy, hired a live-in nurse, kept a close eye on him...

He suffocated under their hold.

He wasn't even certain how he'd gotten away. Though vaguely the memory of his nurse falling ill or slipping a sleeping pill into her drink came to mind. Along with the final use of his remaining Hundred Power to take out the security officers charged to protect him.

He ran away from the cold glare of the city, away from the tall imposing shadows of Skyscrapers and televised recaps of his history. His fame, fortune and glory - none of that mattered to him now.

He didn't even stop to drink until he reached a nearby town. With his scruffy appearance and unkempt hair, he got around without recognition. The lady behind the counter at the liquor store gave him a disgusted look when he came within inches of her face to ask directions to Oriental Town. He left the next morning, but not before picking up a special 'memento'.

Three smoke-filled days later, more alcohol, pot-laced brownies numbing his pain, Barnaby finally found himself in the only place he dared call home again.

He stayed away from Kotetsu's family - though neither Anju or Muramasa blamed him for Kotetsu and Kaede's deaths, Barnaby was certain they would recognize him and send him back to Sternbild. He couldn't have that... not anymore.

He didn't want this anymore.

A smile graced his lips for the first time.

Slumped against the stone, he reached into his ruined coat pocket, pulling out a small, oddly shaped package. Wrapped in brown paper, his memento sat cold and heavy in his hands. And yet, fingers trembling as he undid the paper, he had never felt stronger than in that moment.

Silver barrel, fully loaded and cold to the touch. And yet, his heart warmed at the sight of the thing, its promise more than he could ever ask for. A ragged chuckle rasped from his throat, the first spark of happiness reawakening in his dormant heart.

Leaning forward as best he could, his body growing weak from the cold, he struggled to press a final kiss to the headstone of his husband. Then to his daughter's, the cool stone dead to his touch.

Pulling back, he paused, attention diverted to the stone on his husband’s other side. With a final act of compassion, he leaned over and kissed the headstone of Tomoe Kaburagi.

His heart felt light, head less dizzy and body comfortably warm and fuzzy. He smiled, feeling at ease for the first time in months. His husband, his beloved...

“Kotetsu...”

His hand grasped silver, lifting up to his head.

“I’ll see you all soon.”

And he pulled the trigger.

 

* * *

 

"~~y." Distorted sounds reached Barnaby's ears. A voice echoing over itself multiple times. It sounded distant, yet close enough to have been whispered into his ear, at the same time.

"~~nny." The voice sounded again and a faint touch seemed to caress his cheek.

Barnaby's eyes slowly cracked open and a blurred figure surrounded by a bright light flickered in and out of his vision.

"Bunny. Bunny!" Slowly the echoing seemed to fade away and the voice soothed his ears, familiar and warm, the touch upon his cheek solidifying, and the figure clearing into a sharp image of a familiar smiling face, though those honey-brown eyes seemed to hold a hint of sorrow.

"Bunny, my Bunny…" Kotetsu was saying, his face just as Barnaby remembered it to be. His body whole again, and clothed in white.

“...Kotetsu?” Barnaby rasped, then blinked in surprise. His voice, clear as a bell, rang out as if it were that of an angel’s. His body, too, felt oddly light, as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"It's me." Kotetsu nodded, "We have come to greet you." He closed his eyes, as if fighting back tears.

Why? Why had Barnaby thrown everything he had away like he did? But then, He knew the answer to that…

“’We’?” Barnaby frowned, squinting against the bright light shining in his eyes. It was then he gasped, suddenly realizing the lack of glasses on his face. And the lack of a cold, depressant graveyard surrounding him.

Pushing himself up to his feet, his legs for once not bending beneath him, he gave himself a once over. Strong, muscled and fit... just like he used to be. His hair back to its pale blond color, no patches of grey anywhere to be seen. His eyes bright and clear, like they had been when he was young.

But the strangest of all was his clothing - a white robe, thin yet warm, covering him.

"We." Kotetsu nodded, stepping aside to show four more people waiting to greet the former hero. One face he'd only ever seen in photographs, and the other three; familiar faces from his past he could never forget. All of them dressed the same as he and Kotetsu were, and unlike him, Kotetsu and the others all supported grand wings of white feathers.

But none of that mattered to Barnaby, his heart leaping and tears overflowing from his eyes at the sight. His parents, Mother and Father beaming at him in a similar state. Samantha, looking just as she had years ago, greeting Barnaby with a kind, welcoming smile. And then, next to Kotetsu, Tomoe.

"Welcome to Heaven, Barnaby." Tomoe smiled, "I want to thank you for taking care of our Tiger when I could not. I am glad to share his heart with you."

"Barnaby—my little boy…" Barnaby's mother came forward, pulling her son into her arms and kissing his cheek like she used to when he was little.

“M-Mom” Barnaby choked, tightly embracing his mother. “I... I’ve missed you both so much!!!”

"Your father and I—we never left. We were always there by your side." She shook her head, "We watched you grow up, watched you defeat your demons, watched you fall in love…" she glanced at Kotetsu, "We are proud of you."

"Very." His father agreed, pulling them both into his arms, "So many times we wanted to help you—but you would always surprise us. Always come out on top—even if it took years."

Always...

Barnaby bit his lip, a shadow cast over his face as he glanced down at his feet. No... there wasn’t 'always'. Now being a prime example...

"Heaven is a place for all good souls. You killed yourself so you must earn your wings, unlike us. But you still did good in your lifetime. You earned your place up here, and you can not lose it based upon your death." His father shook his head, knowing what was going through his son's head. "You struggled; having felt bitter loss twice in your life, and it caused you to self-destruct, but it's not over for you, yet. You have eternity, and you will have your chance to make up for what you have done to your mortal life."

"A task has been assigned to you, and when you complete it, you will be forgiven and gain your wings." Samantha nodded.

"She's not here," Tomoe spoke up, "My little Kaede. She's still alive—and is in need of guidance."

A saddened look overtook both Tomoe and Kotetsu's faces.

"She is losing her place here in heaven." Kotetsu sighed, "Our baby girl…has started on a dark path of revenge in all the wrong ways. She needs a guardian to guide her back so that when her time comes, she may join us again."

Barnaby’s head snapped back up in shock. Kaede... Kaede was alive?! But...

“That... impossible... she... she died in the fire with Rose-”

"They both got out." Kotetu shook his head. "They were the ones to pull my human body out of the fire. They ran off when they saw you and the others arrive."

"But..." Barnaby shuddered. "Why? Why did she run?"

Part of him wondered if it was his fault, if he had eroded her trust by not letting her help more... By being too late...

Kotetsu shook his head, "I hadn't been there when they decided to run off and act as anti-heroes, as Tomoe was greeting my arrival here. We don't know why either of them ran off as they had—only that they did."

"I'm sorry..." Barnaby said, unable to look his husband in the eye. "This is my fault... If only I'd-"

"What? Got there sooner? They could have done the same thing to you." Kotetsu shook his head, "My final days were not in any way pleasant, Bunny. I was broken and more than depressed. I was silently begging for death as I believed every lie thrown at me. I wouldn't want you to suffer the same…"

The angel cupped Barnaby's cheek, "But then, you suffered in your own way, didn't you? I was there, trying to lift you up as you fell. I think, at night in your dreams, you knew when I visited you. It would be the only time you seemed to calm and get proper rest."

He brought the new angel into a kiss, holding him close, "There was nothing you could have done for me at that point. Even up here I had a hard time healing. You will heal, too."

"But I... I don't deserve it. If... I had known Kaede was alive..."

"You wouldn't have found her." Tomoe shook her head, "She chose her path that way. But this is why we think you should go to her now. You needn't stay at her side her whole life, but check in on her, act as her guardian angel."

"You know the empty satisfaction of revenge." Barnaby's father said, approaching to place a hand on his son's shoulder, "You know more than any of us how to reach out to her."

"You love her as your own. I know you do." Samantha agreed, "You couldn't help her in your life, but you can now."

"This will also help your own heart heal, Barnaby." His mother smiled.

Barnaby swallowed. He had his doubts, still ridden with guilt and regret. But... If this was something he could do. Make things right for Kaede, lead her back onto the right path - he would do anything to bring her back to her parents. Back to the light.

He nodded.

"I'll bring her back... I won't let her fall to the demons in Hell."

"I knew you would be her hero." Tomoe pulled him into a hug. "And we are all here for you, too. You aren't alone anymore."

Barnaby hesitated; it then wrapped his arms around the woman, china resting on her shoulder.

"Thank you, Tomoe." he murmured.

Tomoe held the hug for a long moment before pulling away, "Go spend some time with your parents. It's been a long time since you have seen them. You'll see Kotetsu plenty. We arranged for you to live with us. After all, married couples are reunited here. They should stay that way. And don't worry; I like you enough to share the same husband." She chuckled, turning Barnaby towards his parents and Samantha.

"Enjoy some time up here before you go into training to learn the angelic skills you will need." Kotetsu nodded.

Barnaby nodded, confused but too determined to care. Kaede... He would save her. He had to - it was the only way to make things right again.

No matter the cost... His last mission as a Hero had begun.

* * *

-End-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you for reading! We hope you enjoyed it overall.
> 
> We would like to take this time to remind you that this was just the first optional ending for this fanfiction, and the first chapter of the second option will be posted shortly. (An hour at most we think)
> 
> On top of that, we have planned to write a sequel for this ending in particular so if you are interested, also be on the lookout for that! As of right now we are thinking of calling it "Heaven's Wings" but it may change. We are still working on finishing up the second ending and a few shorter projects before we get to it.
> 
> Anyway, thanks and thanks again!


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